The Man at the Piano
by yellowrose8
Summary: This is pure BB fluff, not a case story. No spoilers. Fits in anywhere in the third season. Enjoy!


This is pure BB fluff, not a case story. No spoilers. Fits in anywhere in the third season. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

"Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan. I'm sorry to bother you on the weekend let alone this early in the morning, but this was just reported a few hours ago." The bright eyed police officer, who looked too young to own a gun, was addressing a half-asleep FBI agent and his partner who was struggling to keep her eyes open. The young cop was excited for the first action he had seen since he had started his job. Parking tickets had been the extent of his excitement until this point. It was clear that the FBI agent and forensic anthropologist would have preferred to still be home in their beds. "This house has been vacant for a few years now. Some kids found the body when they were dared inside" the police officer continued.

The drowsy anthropologist dragged herself over to a baby grand piano and examined the mostly decomposed body lying on top of it. Snapping on a rub glove, she poked at the a few bones of the mostly decomposed body. "Male, age 30 to 45, level of decomposition suggests he has been dead for 3 to 6 years. I need the body and the piano shipped back to the Jeffersonian."

"I would like to see any information on the most recent home owner and the current neighbors" Booth stated to the officer.

"Great! I'll get right on it!" the young police offer replied a little too excited about a dead body. The officer turned and left the house eager to get to work.

"Coffee?" Booth offered.

"Yes, please." Brennan replied half begging.

--

A few hours later, Booth and Brennan were back at the Jeffersonian. Brennan was working alone. She had decided it was too still early to wake the others on a Saturday and would get as much as she could done without them. The body had been removed from the piano and was lying on an autopsy table. The piano stood in the corner of the platform. "What do you know so far?" Booth inquired craning his next to look over Brennan's shoulder.

"You're making me nervous. Go sit on the piano bench" Brennan ordered. Booth complied. He was still waiting on his files and was clearly bored. "The skull shows signs of blunt force trauma to the occipital lobe. The amount of decay of the body is not congruent with the decay of the wood on the piano under the body. I would estimate that the body was moved there about three weeks ago, the murder occurring several years earlier."

"So, the piano is no longer a crucial piece of evidence?" Booth asked.

"No, I've collected all the facts I can from it."

"Good enough for me." With that being said, Booth spins on the bench toward the piano and starts running scales. "I can't believe how well this piano plays considering the amount of time the house has been vacant." Booth's scales turn into chords as he eases naturally into a song.

Brennan turns toward Booth shocked at his musical talent. She heads over and joins him on the piano bench. "Hey, I know this song!" She hums along with the tune Booth is playing but then spontaneously breaks into the words.

_Oh take me back to the start._

_I was just guessin' at numbers and figures,_

_Pulling your puzzles apart._

_Questions of science, science and progress_

_Do not speak as loud as my heart._

_And tell me you love me, come back and haunt me_

_Oh and I rush to the start._

_Runnin' in circles, Chasin' up Tails_

_Comin' back as we are_

_Nobody said it was easy,_

_Oh it's such a shame for us to part._

_Nobody said it was easy,_

_No one ever said it would be so hard._

_I'm goin' back to the start._

"Bones, I didn't know you knew Coldplay!"

"Of course I know it. It's The Scientist" Brennan states firmly.

"Right, sorry." Then Booth begins to play chords at a faster more up beat tempo. "Know this one?"

Brennan smiles and jumps in with the lyrics.

_Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up  
In the morning when the day is new  
And after having spent the day together  
Hold each other close the whole night through_

Happy times together we've been spending  
I wish that every kiss was never-ending  
Wouldn't it be nice

As Brennan continues to sing she turns her head to look at Booth. She finds two big brown eyes staring back at her. She smiles as she continues to sing but doesn't break eye contact until the end of the song. Both watch each other surprised at the others musical abilities. Although she's sung this Beach Boys song hundreds of times in the shower, the words seem different to her. As she stares into those kind brown eyes, she feels as though the words are coming from somewhere other than her memory. Possibly her heart? No, that's not rational. As Booth looked into those beautiful blue eyes, he struggled with similar feelings.

When the song is over, they both look away. "Wow, Booth I had no idea you were so good at the piano. I noticed the upright in your apartment, but I've never seen you play it."

"Well, my little upright is nothing compared to this beautiful baby grand. I learned to play in junior high because I thought it would impress girls. And it seemed to work because you looked like you were about to jump me when I started playing."

"I was not about to jump you!" Brennan replies, pretending to be offended. "I was surprised at your ability. That's all."

"Right."

"Although, I will admit, I find piano playing an attractive quality in a man."

"Let me get this straight. I've saved you numerous times. We've danced together, dined together, and traveled together. You've seen me wrestle and you've seen me completely naked in my bathroom… and piano playing is what you find attractive about me! You are a complex woman."

Brennan just chuckled in response. Both found themselves staring back into each others eyes. _Beep_. Booth and Brennan both jump at the sound and spin toward the stairs to see Angela walking up to the platform.

"Am I interrupting something?" Angela smiles to herself as the two mumble responses and bounce back to work.

--

That evening, Booth and Brennan met at the diner.

"I'm really jealous of your piano playing. I know how to read music but I never learned piano. I've always wanted to learn."

"Well, I could teach you sometime."

"Really?" Brennan's face lit up with excitement.

"Yeah, sure. It's a little late tonight, but…" Booth watches the excitement slip away from his partners face. "Well, I guess if you want to we could start tonight." Booth was completely exhausted from the early start to his day, but he suddenly wanted nothing more than to see that kind of excitement on his partners face again.

"Tonight would be great!" Brennan whipped money out of her wallet and dropped it on the table. She caught Booth by the wrist and nearly dragged him to the car.

They drove to his apartment and she struggled to contain herself from running to the piano as she sped across the room. Brennan plopped down on the piano bench, laid her hands on the keys, and waited for Booth to catch up. Booth stood behind her and kept himself from chuckling at her excitement. "Okay, this is where you put your hands" Booth began. He reaches his strong arms over her shoulders and places his firm hands on top of hers. Chills run up Brennan's spine when she feels his light touch on her soft skin Goose bumps quickly follow her chills. She worries that Booth may have noticed her reaction to his touch, while another part of her hoped that he had noticed.

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